Once the awkwardness passed, Wen Yifan's emotions adjusted quickly. She didn't feel there was anything wrong with bringing it up and became much more comfortable. She nodded lightly, echoing his words, "I've heard of it."
Sang Yan turned his head to look at her.
"I said it."
"…"
The hotel sat on a somewhat quiet street with few surrounding shops. However, there was a breakfast place directly across from it, which already had quite a few customers, mostly locals from the neighborhood.
The four of them casually ordered breakfast and left after eating.
The car was parked near the hotel, about fifty meters away.
Qian Weihua was getting older, and the recent running around and late nights had worn him down. He'd been having back pain for the past few days and was seriously lacking rest.
Mu Chengyun hadn't gotten his driver's license yet. So they'd agreed the night before that Wen Yifan would drive today.
The trip would take about three hours total, which wasn't too far. Along the way, the other two mostly rested, with only Sang Yan in the passenger seat occasionally chatting with her.
After reaching Nanwu, Wen Yifan first dropped Sang Yan off at the entrance of his residential complex, then drove the car back to the station.
After parking in the lot, Wen Yifan got out. The three of them took the equipment from the car and walked toward the building. Qian Weihua walked alone up front, currently on the phone with someone.
Like he'd been holding it in for the entire trip, before long, Mu Chengyun suddenly called out to her.
"Sister Yifan."
Wen Yifan turned her head: "What is it?"
Mu Chengyun was quiet for a few seconds, his tone sounding certain yet unwilling to believe.
"Are you together with Senior Sang now?"
Since she'd let Sang Yan hitch a ride, Wen Yifan hadn't felt comfortable openly discussing their relationship earlier. She was worried it would give the impression that she wasn't separating her personal and professional lives, making it seem more like she'd come for a romantic trip rather than work.
But thinking it over, apart from bringing Sang Yan along on the return trip, Wen Yifan hadn't neglected anything during this business trip.
Feeling there was no reason to keep it a secret anymore, Wen Yifan nodded: "Mm."
Mu Chengyun was quiet again for a moment, then quickly said with a smile: "I see."
Based on Su Tian's words earlier, and Mu Chengyun's behavior, Wen Yifan had noticed his feelings. But they didn't interact much normally, and since he'd never said it directly, she hadn't paid much attention to it.
Wen Yifan breathed a sigh of relief.
She felt that clearing this up now was good for both of them.
Back at the office—
Wen Yifan greeted the others and then started frantically writing scripts while reviewing materials. She just wanted to quickly finish the wrap-up work, end this half-month-long overtime, and go home to rest.
Just before leaving work, Wen Yifan got a WeChat message from Sang Yan asking when she'd be off. She looked at the time and replied with an approximate time: [Around 7 PM.]
Wen Yifan: [What's up?]
The next moment—
Sang Yan sent a voice message, his voice slow and deliberate.
"Just wanted to tell you something."
Three seconds later, another one.
"Your boyfriend is coming to pick you up."
—
After finishing the remaining work, Wen Yifan packed up her things and left the company. She immediately spotted Sang Yan's car parked nearby, walked quickly toward it, and got into the passenger seat.
Sang Yan had changed clothes and seemed to have gone home to rest in the afternoon, looking much more refreshed now.
Not knowing why he'd come, Wen Yifan asked, "Are we going somewhere now?"
"Home," Sang Yan turned his head and looked at her for a while.
Wen Yifan looked back at him: "What is it?"
After another moment of silence—
Sang Yan didn't speak, suddenly unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning over to fasten hers. His face came close in an instant, the distance between them just inches. After fastening it, he didn't immediately pull back, finishing his sentence from this close distance.
"You still owe me a gift, don't you?"
At this distance, they could feel each other's breath.
Wen Yifan held her breath without thinking: "Didn't you say you already received it?"
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow.
Wen Yifan blinked: "Then I'll save this gift for you for next year."
"I was just being polite earlier, saying something nice to save your face," Sang Yan's eyebrows lifted slightly, his tone drawn out and slow, "But don't you know who's receiving the gift?"
"I think," Wen Yifan thought for a moment, somehow wanting to laugh, "we should split it fifty-fifty."
"…"
"Well, after the kiss," saying it out loud, Wen Yifan felt a bit embarrassed. But she still very seriously described yesterday's situation, "you seemed pretty happy too."
Sang Yan glanced at her, not continuing to argue. His gaze dropped, fixing on her lips. Then, he sat back straight and started the car: "Fine."
"Hm?"
Sang Yan very frankly: "I admit it."
…
It was a bit late to go home and cook dinner at this hour.
Passing by a restaurant near their place, Sang Yan parked the car, went in to buy dinner, and then headed home.
After being away for half a month, the house looked no different from when she left, with everything still in its original place and neatly arranged. Wen Yifan now just wanted to eat dinner and go to sleep. She'd just sat down about to eat when Sang Yan pulled her up.
Wen Yifan looked at him in confusion.
Sang Yan reminded her: "Didn't you forget something?"
"…"
Wen Yifan immediately remembered, got up, and walked toward the bedroom: "Wait for me a moment."
Entering the room, Wen Yifan opened the wardrobe and took down the bag she'd placed on the very top. She looked inside, only now feeling a bit worried, not knowing if he would like it.
Wen Yifan walked back to the dining table and handed him the bag.
Sang Yan took it and casually glanced inside: "Clothes?"
Wen Yifan nodded: "A coat."
Sang Yan looked down and took it out to look.
It was a plain camel-colored long coat.
Maybe because he'd never worn clothes of this color, Sang Yan stared at it for a while and asked, "Why did you buy this color?"
Wen Yifan watched his expression: "I thought it would suit you well."
She quickly added: "And I've never seen you wear clothes of this color."
Though he seemed to prefer wearing black—
But Wen Yifan occasionally wanted to see him wear clothes of other colors.
Wen Yifan wasn't sure if her gift was appropriate, feeling a bit nervous: "If you don't like it, should I exchange it for another gift?"
Sang Yan smiled: "When did I say I don't like it?"
"…"
"I received quite a few gifts this year. In terms of satisfaction," Sang Yan deliberately paused for quite a while before seemingly seriously commenting, "this one ranks second."
Wen Yifan made an "ah" sound and quickly asked: "What's first?"
"First?" Sang Yan didn't say it directly, "What I received yesterday."
"…"
Yesterday?
Yesterday was Sang Yan's actual birthday, and he should have received quite a few things.
She'd sent a cake.
They'd also confirmed their relationship yesterday.
And, according to Sang Yan's words, that kiss on the corner of his lips should also count.
Wen Yifan wasn't sure if it had anything to do with her, but she wanted to know the answer, so she asked again: "What is it?"
Sang Yan told her to guess: "What do you think?"
Wen Yifan didn't know what other gifts he'd received, and thinking that other people's gifts were all precious, she didn't dare rashly claim first place. She reached out to unwrap the package in front of her: "Let me guess first."
But her guessing time didn't even last half a minute.
All of a sudden, Wen Yifan felt a weight on her head. She looked up without thinking to see Sang Yan's hand resting on her head, then rubbing it hard.
Not gently like a normal person would.
Soon, Sang Yan's movement stopped, the corner of his lips curving slightly.
"Thanks."
His hand stayed on Wen Yifan's head.
Wen Yifan didn't move, her eyes meeting his black ones, a bit confused: "Thanks for what?"
Sang Yan smiled: "The gift."
Hearing this, Wen Yifan's gaze dropped, focusing on the coat in his hand.
"And, stop guessing," Sang Yan withdrew his hand, saying lightly, "The first is you."
…
After dinner, Wen Yifan went back to her room.
After finishing her bedtime routine, Wen Yifan lay back on the bed, thinking about what Sang Yan had just said when suddenly there was a knock on the door. She was startled and sat up.
Not knowing what Sang Yan wanted at this hour, she immediately got up and opened the door.
Sang Yan stood outside, looking like he'd just finished showering. He was wearing casual clothes, his hair half-wet, hanging softly at his ears, kind of fluffy. Seeing her open the door, he tilted his head, seeming to look behind her ear.
The next moment, Sang Yan frowned and directly grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him.
Following this force, Wen Yifan leaned forward, her forehead bumping against his chest.
She was completely unprepared and asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Sang Yan's other hand pressed against the back of her neck, without any other movement. Then, he tilted his head slightly, looking down at the area behind her ear, pausing for quite a while. Like he was checking something.
Wen Yifan instantly understood.
The distance was close to touching, and with him just out of the shower, the sandalwood scent on him was really strong. Wen Yifan felt his gaze had become physical, the places he touched starting to feel hot.
Wen Yifan wanted to step back a bit, but he held her in place, unable to move.
Sang Yan spoke flatly: "Did you put medicine on it?"
"No," Wen Yifan licked her lips and explained, "It's already scabbed over, no need to put anything on it."
"It got wet," Sang Yan let go, his tone a bit annoyed, "You didn't even look, did you?"
"…"
Sang Yan walked out, leaving behind a sentence: "Come out and put medicine on it."
Wen Yifan touched behind her ear without thinking, only now realizing it was actually a bit sore and swollen. She hadn't paid much attention to this small injury and followed Sang Yan's footsteps.
After digging through the TV cabinet for medicine, Sang Yan jerked his chin toward the sofa: "Sit there."
Wen Yifan didn't think it was a big deal: "This wound will heal naturally on its own."
Sang Yan ignored her comment, walked back, and sat down next to her, getting close with an expressionless face. He picked up a cotton ball, clearly planning to help her wipe off the water on the surface of the wound.
The atmosphere was kind of tense.
This situation reminded Wen Yifan of the scene when she'd put medicine on him before.
She felt she should do something to lighten this atmosphere.
Seeing from the corner of her eye that Sang Yan was about to touch her, Wen Yifan thought for a moment, then suddenly dodged backward.
Their eyes met.
Wen Yifan squeezed out a word: "It hurts."
"…"
The tension seemed to break in that instant.
Sang Yan said with a half-smile: "Are you faking it?"
Wen Yifan wanted to say she learned all these tricks from him but decided to save him some face. She leaned back, casually mentioning: "After it scabbed over, I didn't take care of it, thought it was pretty much healed."
Hinting that he shouldn't keep such a stern face.
Sang Yan didn't respond to this: "Do you get injured at work often?"
"Huh?" Wen Yifan thought for a moment, "Not really."
"…"
"Occasionally, I guess. This time I don't even know when I got scratched," Wen Yifan said with a smile, "And I didn't notice right away, only knew when my colleague told me. It doesn't hurt much."
Sang Yan used iodine to disinfect it for her, looking like a little devil, but his movements were gentle.
"Doesn't hurt?"
Somehow, hearing this, Wen Yifan's voice stopped, without thinking swallowing back her denial. She stared at Sang Yan's profile, answering truthfully without meaning to: "It hurts a little."
Sang Yan's touch seemed to lighten even more: "Does it hurt now?"
Wen Yifan: "It's okay."
After finishing, Sang Yan threw the cotton swab into the trash: "Don't let it get wet when you shower tomorrow."
"Okay."
Sang Yan started cleaning up, saying casually: "Go to sleep."
Wen Yifan made an "oh" sound and stood up, walking toward her room. But soon, she turned back, looking at Sang Yan still sitting on the sofa, and blurted out: "Will you help me put medicine on it again tomorrow?"
"…"
Like he hadn't expected her to say this on her own, Sang Yan's movements stopped. He looked at her for quite a while before looking away.
"Come find me yourself after you shower."
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